Notes about Recipes in this book

• Snickerdoodles

  • MeganGarcia on December 03, 2017

    These came out great. The recipe is very easy to follow, and makes 12 cookies which were tender and fluffy.

• Brownies for two

  • MeganGarcia on December 03, 2017

    I love this recipe. The instructions are great: I tried another brownies for 2 recipe which came out gritty, so I baked this one to compare them side by side. This recipe had a much better texture and flavor (due to the amount of salt added). You get the shiny top, and the fudgy interior. I have made this recipe at least 5 times.

  • mharriman on April 01, 2024

    I agree with MeganGarcia. The crust of the brownie has a beautiful shine and is nicely baked; the interior is a rich chocolate fudge texture and flavor. I was able to make the recipe as my leg of lamb was resting. I cooked it during dinner and it was ready to cut and for two of us to eat for dessert. Good enough to repeat.

• Chess pie bars

  • MeganGarcia on December 03, 2017

    The flavor of this was good. It has a bottom crust somewhat like a pie crust which you press into the baking pan, the interior tastes like a baked custard, and the top gets crispy and crumbly. It was super rich: I couldn't finish a quarter of it. I also had a really hard time getting it out of the loaf pan. I will try using a pyrex pan next time instead of a metal pan. My husband really enjoyed it even though he typically hates custards.

• Apple brown betty with gingersnap crumbs

  • MeganGarcia on December 03, 2017

    This is so tasty! the juices of the apples, orange juice, and butter combine to make the cookie crumbs into an almost cake-like texture. I thought the leftovers reheated the next day were even better. Vanilla ice cream is a must-have for serving.

• Very vanilla cupcakes

  • mharriman on November 02, 2019

    Easy to mix up and get ready for the oven; the dough was a very thick, sticky consistency that was almost like a frosting to me. The cupcakes rose well and were nicely baked at 17 minutes in my oven. I was out of vanilla extract and used French Polynesian vanilla paste instead, so don’t know if that altered the taste. The ingredients for the frosting made about twice as much as I needed. I thought my cupcake was good but held off my opinion and asked my three family members their opinion. They said they’d better have a second one to make sure how they felt. I’ll take that as a ‘yes’ for repeats; had to break it to them there weren’t any more to taste test!

• Pumpkin cupcakes with bourbon buttercream

  • mharriman on October 31, 2019

    My first time trying this book turned out to be a positive experience. I had leftover pumpkin from making a pumpkin loaf, so this was a perfect opportunity to make the pumpkin cupcakes. It was also a nice Halloween dessert treat. The two of us really liked these. They are light in texture, and the buttercream frosting was quick to whip up (after bringing butter to room temp) and it went well with the pumpkin. My baking time was at the end of range given: 32 minutes. For the frosting, I didn’t have bourbon; substituted 1 teaspoon of brandy and two of vanilla. I liked the vanilla note. Definitely will repeat.

• Carrot cake cupcakes

  • Apollonia on April 04, 2021

    My first bake from this book, and they came out well. I only got three cupcakes, but I overfilled my cups a bit, and they ran over. The spicing was nicely assertive. Frosting was on the other side of too sweet for me, so I'd dial it back next time, but otherwise, I'd make again when looking for a small treat.

• Tres leches cake

  • MeganGarcia on December 03, 2017

    I've had this cake for my birthday 2 years in a row now. It's spongy and light, the perfect vehicle for soaking up the tres leches milk sauce. The whipped cream is only lightly sweetened, which counters the very sweet soaking liquid. It would be good with some fresh fruit, like strawberries or any stone fruit.

• Devil's food cake

  • MeganGarcia on December 03, 2017

    My husband baked this recipe a few years ago for Valentines' day. It was quite rich and decadent, with a moist cake and a rich chocolate frosting. This is a great recipe for chocolate lovers, and a great ending to a romantic meal. It would be awesome with fresh strawberries.

• Best chocolate cupcakes with marshmallow frosting

  • MeganGarcia on May 11, 2018

    The cupcakes were fine, but I didn't like the marshmallow frosting. It was too airy, an unpleasant texture against the cake, and didn't really seem to resemble marshmallow.

• Warm brownie sundae

  • MeganGarcia on December 03, 2017

    I baked this recipe a few years ago when I had company over (it's really a perfect size for 4) and everyone really enjoyed it. My sister still reminds me once in a while about the time we had the brownie in the skillet that was so good. It's pretty similar to the other recipe for brownies in this book, but it adds chocolate chips and gets baked in a little cast iron skillet.